{"id":2770,"date":"2017-03-31T11:23:42","date_gmt":"2017-03-31T09:23:42","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2017-04-03T13:56:04","modified_gmt":"2017-04-03T11:56:04","slug":"timing-is-everything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/?p=2770","title":{"rendered":"Timing is Everything"},"content":{"rendered":"

When to throw a line? <\/p>\n

“Whenever I get a chance!” is a knee jerk response and only too true ,as we very often don\u2019t have the luxury of choosing our leisure windows.<\/p>\n

But urban schedules notwithstanding, few would argue that our limited fishing time should be calculated to provide maximum enjoyment. Whether this satisfaction is merely spending time at the waters edge, unwinding or having your fly abused by obscenely large fish, when to spend your precious fishing time should be the first consideration.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And if it\u2019s river Trout that you\u2019re chasing then April is the prime month to set a play date.\u2028 \u2028Brown Trout are as a fussy fish as you\u2019re likely to find in South African rivers. Their legendary eyesight and stealthy ability to remain undetected in gin clear water make them a formidable opponent, so picking the right time to target this finicky fish will determine whether you whittle hours away, changing flies, perfecting your presentation and drag free drift or wrestling with hungry fish.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

At this time of year, the catchment rains have hopefully abated, allowing the KZN rivers to clean, water temperatures are dropping appreciably and this combined with the good flow rate has the Trout moving upstream, still feeding until the overwhelming urge to procreate has them settling into suitable spawning areas.\u2028 \u2028However, this fish is wary enough not to make an appearance as the sun peaks, so choosing the right time of day is paramount. The golden hour just post dawn and pre dusk is ideal when looking for surface action, but a cloudy day can reward you throughout, if you\u2019re happy to resort to nymphing or stripping a very imitative streamer.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

You always hear the stories about days gone past where the Browns were bigger and the fishing better, but quite frankly living in the past bares no fruit that you get to enjoy and let me tell you this week, myself and Jeremy Rochester enjoyed the finest river Brown Trout fishing session that either of us have ever experienced at home or abroad! The Brown Trout of KZN are alive and kicking! Talk of the drought devastating populations, I would debate when it comes to Salmo Trutta, as it would seem that the larger specimens have lived up to their reputation as survivors. \u2028<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll reserve judgement on our fisheries, until the catch records reveal the level of recruitment in terms of the younger populations, but the upper reaches are recording equally as good catch numbers albeit smaller in stature.\u2028 \u2028Where and what fly is the age old question.\u2028 \u2028I am a self confessed fly fishing heathen, so on landing my first good Brown Trout on a #6 Zonker Minnow, you stood more chance of knocking me out than getting me to change fly. But we also nymphed with large Caddis patterns, although I would argue that it was the induced take through the vertical hanging of the fly that was more the catalyst than the actual pattern.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The dry fly stayed that way.\u2028 \u2028Where else but on the finest Brown Trout fishery in South Africa\u2026..dis Mooi!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When to throw a line? “Whenever I get a chance!” is a knee jerk response and only too true ,as we very often don\u2019t have the luxury of choosing our leisure windows. But urban schedules notwithstanding, few would argue that our limited fishing time should be calculated to provide maximum enjoyment. Whether this satisfaction is merely spending time at the waters edge, unwinding or having your fly abused by obscenely large fish, when to spend […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":2771,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/b2ap3_thumbnail_Gareth-Brown-3.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2685,"url":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/?p=2685","url_meta":{"origin":2770,"position":0},"title":"Midlands Trout Season","author":"Gareth","date":"May 20, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The first frosts of the season is something worth celebrating from a Winter fishing perspective. It is a time in which the Trout embrace the colder water temperatures and feed a little more aggressively before they switch into spawning mode. \u00a0 We have started to record minus degree Celius mornings\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/b2ap3_thumbnail_thumb_IMG_2862_1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9109,"url":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/?p=9109","url_meta":{"origin":2770,"position":1},"title":"Troutdemic","author":"Gareth","date":"July 9, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 I thought it would never end! \u00a0 O.k, so you can\u2019t have a legal smoke of satisfaction after the act or toast in celebration with your fishing buddies, but at least you can get out of jail and back on the water. That it is a pandemic there\u2019s no\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "South Africa"","block_context":{"text":"South Africa","link":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/?cat=70"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/troutdemic-1024x410-copy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/troutdemic-1024x410-copy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/troutdemic-1024x410-copy.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/troutdemic-1024x410-copy.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/troutdemic-1024x410-copy.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12317,"url":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/?p=12317","url_meta":{"origin":2770,"position":2},"title":"Lazy Boyz","author":"Gareth","date":"March 29, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"To tube or not to tube is a shouldn\u2019t be a dilemma. Although targeting Trout from the bank and stalking a fish is the way to go on arrival at any dam (as long as you get their at the proverbial crack of), to not jump in your float tube\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fly"","block_context":{"text":"Fly","link":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Lazy-Boyz-Banner.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Lazy-Boyz-Banner.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Lazy-Boyz-Banner.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Lazy-Boyz-Banner.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Lazy-Boyz-Banner.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Lazy-Boyz-Banner.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15031,"url":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/?p=15031","url_meta":{"origin":2770,"position":3},"title":"Habits 7 of Successful Fly Fishers \u2013 Part 1 Winter","author":"Gareth","date":"July 1, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Mindset might be everything, but I\u2019m no shrink and I\u2019m not going to pretend that the positive laws of attraction are going to get you more fish. But what is proven, is if you fish with confidence, you don\u2019t second guess what you\u2019re doing all the time and hence stick\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fly"","block_context":{"text":"Fly","link":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/?cat=92"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Banner-copy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Banner-copy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Banner-copy.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Banner-copy.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Banner-copy.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13042,"url":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/?p=13042","url_meta":{"origin":2770,"position":4},"title":"The Fly Shrink","author":"Gareth","date":"June 2, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"How smart do you think fish really are? I mean it\u2019s not as if they\u2019ve managed to crawl out the water\u2026\u2026yet we seem to spend an inordinate amount of time trying to figure them out. There\u2019s a lot to consider when throwing a fly at a fish and some might\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fly"","block_context":{"text":"Fly","link":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/The-Fly-Shrink-copy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/The-Fly-Shrink-copy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/The-Fly-Shrink-copy.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/The-Fly-Shrink-copy.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/The-Fly-Shrink-copy.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7159,"url":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/?p=7159","url_meta":{"origin":2770,"position":5},"title":"Yellow Fever","author":"Gareth","date":"February 20, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Yellow fever is not to be trifled with. It starts off with mild itching, that at some stage you have to scratch, which needless to say only makes it worse. Pretty soon your heart is racing and before you know it you\u2019re sweating bullets. You really should have stayed in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fly"","block_context":{"text":"Fly","link":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/yellow-fever-banner2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/yellow-fever-banner2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/yellow-fever-banner2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/yellow-fever-banner2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fishbook.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/yellow-fever-banner2.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8sv9-IG","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2770\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishbook.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}